Floating lanterns have become increasingly popular at weddings and other celebrations, but they pose an airborne fire hazard that the Town of Kingsville plans to snuff out.

The flying lanterns are like miniature hot air balloons made of lightweight paper with an open flame in a cage at the base. The hot air makes the lantern rise and float away.

“These things are dangerous,” said Kingsville fire department Chief Bob Kissner said. “You light them up, send them off and you have no idea where it’s going to land.”

Two residents approached Kissner last month with concerns. One man found one burning in his yard, while another man stopped family members from launching them during a celebration.

Kingsville council agreed Monday to alter its fireworks bylaw next month to ban the sale and use of floating lanterns.

Windsor fire department Chief Bruce Montone said he was at a Canada Day celebration in the county last summer when 10 floating lanterns glided across the sky.

“I watched them for close to 30 minutes just drifting on the wind,” he said. “They eventually got far enough away I couldn’t see them.”

He estimated they had travelled several kilometres. Floating lanterns are not specifically barred in Windsor, but Montone said they are not allowed under the city’s ban on open burning.

“Contrary to popular belief, they don’t come down unlit,” he said.

Monton said floating lanterns were one of the first issues he faced when he came to Windsor as its chief in 2011.

“We’ve had a couple of incidents at specific celebrations,” he said. “We intervened when made aware and reminded the facility it’s not permitted. Ultimately the owner of the facility is responsible.”

Unlike Windsor, Kingsville does allow open burning as long as it’s to cook food or a special allowance for a farmer to burn brush cleared from a ditch, Kissner said.

Although the floating lanterns are probably not allowed under Kingsville’s existing bylaws, Kissner said he wanted them forbidden specifically under the fireworks bylaw to enable him to educate the public.

When party venues need permits or liquor licences, the fire department has to do an inspection, which gives it the opportunity to remind event organizers that floating lanterns aren’t allowed, he said.

The Ontario Fire Marshal urged Health Canada in 2009 to stop the sale of the sky lantern products but the federal government declined to take action, said the OFM in a letter to fire officials.

The fire marshal said the floating lanterns can land on trees, rooftops and on combustible materials and potentially causing a fire.

There have been reports “of lantern releases near airports causing lengthy flight delays,” the OFM said in an education notice sent to local fire officials.

Two Windsor and one Kingsville party supply store said they’ve had multiple requests for the lanterns but don’t sell them. They are widely available online.

The Kingsville ban won’t take effect until the next council meeting on Aug. 12, said Deputy Clerk Sandra Kitchen. The town will send area municipalities a copy of the bylaw because the lanterns can travel such long distances, she said.

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